JP2013534751A - Self-configuration of donor / relay node relationships - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for transferring RAN configuration data between radio access nodes.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method is performed by a mobility management node (MMEA)
A first RAN configuration transfer message (1) issued by a source radio access node (eNBA) operating the source cell (A), the target relay node operating the target cell (B) ( RNB) target node identifier (RN-IDB) and target cell target tracking area identifier (TAIB), so that the source radio access node may receive a RAN from the target relay node. Receiving a first RAN configuration transfer message (1) requesting configuration data;
Decoding a target node identifier and a target tracking area identifier;
If the target tracking area identifier is managed by the mobility management node and the target node identifier is not associated with any registered radio access node, the target tracking area identifier Broadcasting the first RAN configuration transfer message toward a plurality of associated registered radio access nodes (DeNBC, eNBD).
The invention also relates to a management mobility node.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cellular public land mobile network (PLMN), and more particularly, a radio access network (RAN) is self-configured, and The present invention relates to a self-organizing network (SON) function that is self-optimized.

  Support for self-configuration and self-optimization of Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile networks was launched in June 2009 in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA)" and "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Relative Network Specification (E-UTRAN)" in the "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRAN) Spec." Is (see 3GPP TS 36.300 V9.0.0).

  The self-configuration process is whereby the newly deployed evolved Node Bs (eNBs) are configured by an automatic installation procedure to obtain the necessary basic configuration for system operation. Defined as a process. This includes network connectivity, eNB authentication and registration with one or more gateways, downloading eNB software and operating parameters, coverage / capacity related parameter configurations, and neighbor list configurations. The self-configuration process is further defined as a process whereby an existing eNB is automatically updated following the introduction of a new eNB.

  A self-optimization process is defined as a process whereby a user equipment (UE) and / or eNB measurements are used to automatically tune the network. This includes neighbor list optimization and control of coverage, capacity, and handover.

  The Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) function is an important function of the SON. The purpose of the ANR function is to relieve the operator from the burden of manually managing neighborhood relationships (NR). The ANR function exists in the eNB and manages a conceptual relationship table (NRT). The Neighbor Detection (ND) function finds a new neighbor and adds a corresponding NR to the NRT, and the Neighbor Removal (NR) function deletes an expired NR.

  NR in the context of ANR is defined as the association from the source cell to the target cell. For each cell that the eNB has, the eNB maintains an NRT. For each NR, the NRT includes a Target Cell Identifier (TCI) that identifies the target cell. In E-UTRAN, the TCI corresponds to the E-UTRAN Cell Global Identifier (ECGI) and the Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) of the target cell. The NR comprises further attributes such as whether the NR can be deleted from the NRT and whether there is a direct X2 connection with the eNB operating the target cell.

  The ANR function functions as follows.

  A serving cell eNB has an ANR function. As part of the normal call procedure, the eNB instructs each UE to perform measurements for neighboring cells. The eNB may use different policies to instruct the UE how to perform measurements and when to report them to the serving eNB.

  The UE sends a measurement report for a specific neighbor cell according to the configured measurement policy. This report includes the neighbor cell's PCI but not its ECGI.

  The eNB uses the newly found PCI as a parameter, the ECGI for neighboring cells, ie PLMN identity and cell identity, and the Tracking Area Identifier (TAI), ie PLMN identity and tracking tracking. Instructs the UE to read the Tracking Area Code (TAC).

  When the UE finds a new cell ECGI and TAI, the UE reports the detected ECGI and TAI to the serving cell eNB. The eNB decides to add this NR to the serving cell's NRT, and also uses the reported ECGI to specify a Transport Network Layer (TNL) address, eg, an Internet The protocol (IP) address can be examined to set up a new X2 connection with the eNB operating the detected neighbor cell.

  If the serving eNB does not have a suitable TNL address for connectivity, then the eNB can determine the TNL address using the configuration transfer function as follows.

  The eNB sends an eNB configuration transfer message (eNB CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message) to the Management Mobility Entity (MME) to request the TNL address of the candidate eNB, and the ID and target of the source eNB It includes relevant information such as eNB ID.

  The MME relays the request by sending an MME configuration transfer message to the candidate eNB identified by the target eNB ID.

  The candidate eNB responds by sending a further eNB configuration transfer message to the initiating eNB that includes one or more TNL addresses to be used for X2 connectivity.

  The MME relays its response by sending a further MME configuration transfer message to the initiating eNB.

  In that RAN configuration data exchange, the MME is transparent, stateless, and does not track the exchanged configuration data.

  Release 10 of 3GPP introduces Relay Nodes (RN) to extend to areas where the infrastructure that backhauls radio coverage does not exist or is insufficient (almost) Yes. The E-UTRAN establishes an RN wireless connection to the eNB serving the RN, called the Donor eNB (DeNB), via a modified version of the E-UTRA radio interface called the Un interface. Supports relaying by having

  The RN supports an eNB function which means that it terminates the radio protocol with the E-UTRA radio interface, the S1 interface and the X2 interface.

  In addition to the eNB function, the RN also supports a subset of the UE functions to connect wirelessly to the DeNB.

  DeNB provides S1 proxy function and X2 proxy function between RN and other network nodes (ie, eNB, MME and S-GW). S1 proxy function and X2 proxy function pass data and control packets to S1 and X2 between the S1 and X2 interfaces associated with the RN and the S1 and X2 interfaces associated with other network nodes Is included. Thus, the DeNB appears to the RN as an MME or S-GW for the S1 interface or as an eNB for the X2 interface.

  The handover towards the target cell operated by the RN is expected to function as follows.

  In the handover required message (HANDOVER REQUIRED message), the source eNB includes the TAI of the target cell in the target ID field, the eNB ID of the target DeNB, and the ECGI of the target cell in the source to target container. The target MME is selected based on the TAI and routes according to the target ID field. When the target DeNB receives a handover request message (HANDOVER REQUEST message), it examines the target ECGI and identifies the target cell as belonging to one of its connected RNs. The target DeNB can then proxy the handover request message to the corresponding RN for further handling at that location.

  This algorithm assumes that the source eNB knows which DeNB controls the RN. Nevertheless, whenever a UE reports a newly detected neighbor cell operated by the RN to its serving eNB, it reports its PCI and its ECGI using the ANR function described above. Will do. The ECGI includes an eNB ID of the RN (further referred to as an RN-ID). However, the serving eNB needs the ID of the eNB of the DeNB that controls the RN (further referred to as DeNB-ID) in order to construct a handover required message. This RN-ID / DeNB-ID mapping information is lost in the serving eNB.

  As a result, the handover towards the RN cell functions at the expense of heavy configuration and high operational expenses (OPEX), i.e. whenever an RN is introduced into the network. Needs to configure all neighboring eNBs with the identity of the DeNB that controls that RN. This configuration is tedious, is scalable with the number of deployed RNs that could be substantially possible, is susceptible to human error, and the RN may be wandering, i.e. a switch It is even more disgusting that it may be moved from one location to another after it is turned off and then switched on again in a new wireless environment.

3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Overall description" Technical Specification (TS), 3GPP TS 36.300 V9.0. 0, June 2009, §22

  One object of the present invention is to simplify network configuration for relay nodes that are backhauled and proxied wirelessly through a donor node.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a method for transferring RAN configuration data between radio access nodes is provided by a mobility management node:
A first RAN configuration transfer message issued by a source radio access node operating the source cell, the target node identifier of the target relay radio access node operating the target cell, and the target cell And the source radio access node receives a first RAN configuration transfer message requesting RAN configuration data from the target relay radio access node. Steps,
Decoding the target node identifier and the target tracking area identifier from the first RAN configuration transfer message;
If the target tracking area identifier is managed by the mobility management node and the target node identifier is not associated with any registered radio access node, the target tracking Broadcasting the first RAN configuration transfer message as a further first RAN configuration transfer message towards a plurality of registered radio access nodes associated with the area identifier.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the managed mobility node is configured to transfer RAN configuration data between radio access nodes and issued by a source radio access node operating a source cell A first RAN configuration transfer message comprising a target node identifier of a target relay radio access node operating the target cell and a target tracking area identifier of the target cell, and thereby Receiving logic for the first radio access node to receive a first RAN configuration transfer message requesting RAN configuration data from the target relay radio access node;
Decoding logic for decoding the target node identifier and the target tracking area identifier from the first RAN configuration transfer message;
If the target tracking area identifier is managed by the mobility management node and the target node identifier is not associated with any registered radio access node, the target tracking Routing logic for broadcasting the first RAN configuration transfer message as a further first RAN configuration transfer message towards a plurality of registered radio access nodes associated with the area identifier.

In an embodiment of the method according to the invention and in a corresponding embodiment of the managed mobility node according to the invention the target relay from and through the registered radio access nodes The donor radio access node to which the operation of the radio access node is proxied is the target of the handover message for handing over the UE from the source cell to the target cell for the donor radio access node Return the donor node identifier being used as the node identifier as part of the second RAN configuration transfer message;
The mobility management node forwards the second RAN configuration transfer message as a further second RAN configuration transfer message toward the source radio access node.

In an embodiment of the method according to the invention and in a corresponding embodiment of the managed mobility node according to the invention the target relay from and through the registered radio access nodes The donor radio access node to which the operation of the radio access node is proxied is used for further connectivity between the source radio access node and the donor radio access node for the donor radio access node Returned as part of the second RAN configuration transfer message,
The mobility management node also forwards the second RAN configuration transfer message as a further second RAN configuration transfer message towards the source radio access node.

  The further first and second RAN configuration transfer messages are not necessarily different from the first and second RAN configuration transfer messages, respectively.

  The real problem is that in every eNB, in order not to manually configure knowledge of which eNB's neighbor RNs to manage, the DeNB will configure the ANR function to automatically configure that knowledge. Or extend it.

  The only routing challenge is therefore the routing of eNB / MME configuration transfer messages, and not one of the handover need / request messages as one might guess at first glance. .

  The present invention relies on broadcast / paging of configuration messages over the S1 interface as follows.

  The source eNB receives the target ECGI and the target TAI from the UE ANR report. Inside this target ECGI, it can extract the ID of the target eNB. However, the source eNB does not know that the ID of the target eNB is an RN-ID at this point.

  The source eNB currently includes the target TAI and the target eNB ID (here, RN-ID) in the eNB configuration transfer message.

  The target MME will not find any match for this eNB ID. As of today, instead of rejecting, the target MME broadcasts an eNB configuration transfer message as an MME configuration transfer message based on the received TAI, that is, it connects to all eNBs that it connects to and also belongs to this TAI. Send multiple copies of the MME configuration transfer message to it. This process is not difficult for the MME because it is similar to the paging process for a given UE.

  The target DeNB will receive the MME configuration transfer message as part of all participating eNBs for this TAI. Other eNBs will truncate this message because they do not know about the target eNB's ID. The target DeNB will understand that the ID of the included eNB matches the RN-ID of one of the RNs it controls.

  The target DeNB will respond on behalf of the target RN with an eNB configuration transfer response that includes a new field indicating its DeNB-ID. Since the target DeNB acts as an X2 proxy for the requested target RN, it can also include its X2 transport address as if it were the destination node.

  When the source eNB receives an MME configuration transfer response containing a new field, it knows that the requested target node was actually an RN, and the source eNB also controls it Know the DeNB-ID for. The source eNB is ready to perform a handover. The source eNB may also receive an X2 transport address and use this X2 transport address to set up an X2 connection with the target DeNB.

  The present invention enables automatic configuration of a DeNB-ID / RN-ID mapping relationship in a serving neighbor eNB that allows a handover towards an RN cell.

  The present invention avoids the constraints of manually configuring the DeNB for each RN and any neighboring eNBs for the RN, and thus substantially eliminates the OPEX associated with RN deployment and operation. Reduce.

  The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent, and the present invention itself will be understood by referring to the following description of one embodiment, which is to be interpreted in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Will be best understood.

1 is a diagram representing a portion of an LTE mobile infrastructure. FIG. It is a figure showing a coverage area. It is a figure showing a message flow chart. It is a figure showing a message flow chart.

In FIG. 1, the following network nodes: one MME: MMEA,
A portion of LTE mobile infrastructure comprising four eNBs: eNBA, RNB, DeNBC and eNBD is shown.

  eNB: eNBA, DeNBC and eNBD are directly coupled to MME: MMEA through the S1 interface. eNB: DeNBC is a DeNB that wirelessly connects RN: RNB to the RAN network (via the Un interface). DeNB: DeNBC serves as an S1 proxy for the S1 connection between RN: RNB and MME: MMEA and also serves as an X2 proxy for the X2 connection between RN: RNB and further eNB Fulfill.

  eNB: eNBA, RNB, DeNBC, and eNBD have eNB-IDA, RN-IDB, DeNB-IDC, and eNB-IDD as IDs of the eNB.

  In FIG. 2, the radio coverage area of an LTE mobile network comprising four cells A, B, C and D is shown.

  The first cell A belongs to a first tracking area TAA operated by eNB: eNBA and identified by TAI: TAIA. Cell A has PCIA and ECGIA as PCI and ECGI, respectively.

  The three other cells B, C and D belong to another tracking area TAB identified by TAI: TAIB and are operated by eNB: RNB, DeNBC and eNBD, respectively. Cell B has PCIB and ECGIB as PCI and ECGI, respectively. Cell C has PCIC and ECGIC as PCI and ECGI, respectively. Cell D has PCID and ECGID as PCI and ECGI, respectively.

  A UE such as a mobile terminal: UEX establishes a communication session at location a, inside the coverage area of cell A, further referred to as the source cell (or serving cell).

  UE: UEX then moves towards location c while the communication session is in progress.

  At position b, the radio signal from cell B experiences a lower path loss than the radio signal from cell A. Assuming that the difference between each path loss exceeds some configured handover margin, the handover will hand over the ongoing session towards cell B, further called the target cell. Triggered for. Other causes of handover can also be triggered.

  In FIG. 3A, a message flow chart representing the most notable messages exchanged during a handover is shown. The message flow chart continues in FIG. 3B.

  Initially, UE: UEX establishes an internal communication session for cell A (see call setup in FIG. 3A).

  As part of the call setup procedure, UE: UEX is configured with a measurement policy and a handover threshold. UE: UEX measures the strength and quality of signals from neighboring cells and compares them to their respective handover thresholds.

  In a further step, when the UE: UEX leaves cell A operated by eNB: eNBA and enters cell B operated by RN: RNB, the measurement report message (MEASUREMENT REPORT message) is the target cell B To the source eNB: eNBA for notifying the handover event towards The measurement report message comprises the target cell's PCI, in this case PCIB, and the type of handover event, in this case A3 event (neighbor is a better offset than serving).

  Shortly thereafter, the source eNB: eNBA decides to perform a handover for UE: UEX from the source cell A to the target cell B.

  When the PCI: PCIB is not known, the source eNB: eNBA requests the UE: UEX to read the neighbor cell B ECGI and TAI. This is accomplished using the ANR procedure, and more specifically, an RRC CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION message comprising the cell's PCI, ECGI and TAI to be read, and CGI indication of the report. UE: achieved by transmitting to UEX.

  The UE: UEX reads the neighbor cell B ECGI: ECGIB and TAI: TAIB and returns them with the PCI: PCIB to the source eNB: eNBA using further measurement report messages.

  ECGI is a combination of a 24-bit long PLMN identity and a 28-bit long cell identity. The cell identity further comprises the ID of the eNB that is encoded over 20 bits, and the remaining 8 bits are used to encode the cell identity within the associated eNB.

  The source eNB decodes the ID of the eNB of the target node from ECGI: ECGIB, in the present case, the RN-IDB. When the eNB ID is not yet known, the source eNB: eNBA sends an eNB configuration transfer message to the MME: MMEA (see 1 in FIG. 3A). The eNB configuration transfer message comprises the source eNB ID and TAI, eNB-IDA and TAIA in the current case, target eNB ID and TAI, RN-IDB and TAIB in the current case, and a request indication.

  MME: The MMEA checks the target TAI to determine the path that the eNB configuration transfer message should follow, and more specifically the next hop to which this message should be sent. In the current case, the MME: MMEA manages the target TAI: TAIB, so this message will not be routed further.

  Since the target eNB ID: RN-IDB corresponds to the RN, and does not correspond to the directly connected eNB, like the DeNB: DeNBC and the eNB: eNBD, in the MME: MMEA unknown. As a result, the MME: MMEA sends an eNB configuration transfer message toward all connected eNBs having cells belonging to the target TAI: TAIB, in the present case DeNB: DeNBC, and eNB: eNBD. Broadcast as MME configuration transfer message (see 1 ′ in FIG. 3A).

  Since its own eNB ID, eNB-IDD in the present case, does not match the target eNB ID, RN-IDB in the present case, eNB: eNBD is not a DeNB, and thus Since no further RNs are controlled, the eNB: eNBD truncates the received MME configuration transfer message.

  DeNB: DeNBC replaces the RN: RNB by identifying the RN-IDB as the RNB in the present case as the ID of one of its connected RNs and also sending a further eNB configuration transfer message (See 2 in FIG. 3A). The further eNB configuration transfer message comprises RN-IDB and TAIB as source eNB ID and TAI, eNB-IDA and TAIA as target eNB ID and TAI, and response indication. This message further comprises, as supplied SON configuration data, DeNB: DeNBC eNB ID, in this case DeNB-IDC, and in some cases DeNB: DeNBC TNL address, in present case TNLC. .

  The further eNB configuration transfer message is routed as a further MME configuration transfer message towards the requesting eNB, in this case eNB: eNBA (see 2 'in Fig. 3A).

  Shortly thereafter, the source eNB: eNBA knows that the requested target node is actually an RN and the identity of the DeNB that controls it, and the TNL address.

  As a first option, the source eNB: eNBA establishes an X2 connection with the DeNB: DeNBC using the supplied TNL address TNLC, and further sends a handover request message directly to the DeNB: DeNBC. . The handover request message has ECGIB as the target cell identifier and should be X2 proxyed by the DeNB towards the RN: RNB.

  As a second option (not shown), the source eNBA sends a Handover Required message to the MME: MMEA for further routing towards the target eNB. The handover required message is the DeNB-IDC as the target eNB ID and TAI, respectively, so that the MME: MMEA can properly route the handover required message as a handover request message toward the DeNB: DeNBC. And TAIB. The DeNB: DeNBC then extracts the target ECGI: ECGIB from the source-eNB-to-target eNB transparent container (Source-eNB-to-Target-eNB-Transparent-Container) IE and is operated by the RN: RNB This cell is identified as being, and the message is S1-proxyed to RN: RNB.

  Immediately after receiving the handover request message and after resource admission control, the target eNB: RNB returns a handover request acknowledgment message (HANDOVER REQUEST ACK message) to the source eNB: eNBA. DeNB: X2 / S1 proxyed by DeNBC. The handover request acknowledgment message includes an RRC CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION container to be handed transparently to the UE: UEX by the source eNB: eNBA.

  UE: UEX receives an RRC connection reconfiguration message with the necessary parameters and is thus instructed to perform a handover by the source eNB: eNBA. The UE performs synchronization with the target eNB: RNB, and accesses the cell B via the RACH. The target eNB: RNB responds with the uplink allocation and the timing advance value. When the UE: UEX has successfully accessed the target cell B, the UE: UEX transmits an RRC connection reconfiguration completion message (RRC CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION COMPLETE message) to the target eNB: RNB. The target eNB: RNB can now start sending data to the UE: UEX.

  It should be noted that the handover procedure for UE: UEX may fail due to RAN configuration data exchange, and this RAN configuration data exchange may take some time to complete. . However, the exchanged RAN configuration data can be used for further handover from the source cell A to the target cell B for the same UE or another UE.

  Although the serving eNB: eNBA and the target eNB: RNB are shown to be connected to the same MME, they can nevertheless be connected to different MMEs, in this case The eNB configuration transfer message and the handover required message are routed by the source MME to the appropriate target MME using the target TAI.

  Similarly, the target cell B operated by the target eNB: RNB may belong to the same tracking area as the serving cell A, in the present case TAA. If so, the eNB: eNBA will also get a copy of the MME configuration transfer message as part of the S1 paging process and this message for exactly the same reason as described for eNB: eNBD. Will be truncated.

  Instead, the source eNB: eNBA also does not first issue an eNB configuration transfer message, but sends a handover required message to the MME: MMEA (eg, it is interested in X2 connection setup). It is also possible to make an effective decision. In that case, the following would apply:

  Source eNB: eNBA decides to trigger an S1 handover including the target eNB's ID and TAI, in this case RN-IDB and TAIB.

  The target MME does not find any eNB corresponding to the encoded target eNB ID, and the handover procedure fails with the current cause “Unknown Node-Id” today .

  Source eNB: eNBA acknowledges the failure and also decides to issue an eNB configuration transfer message to learn more about this target eNB. The procedure continues as described above.

  Although the above description is an exhaustive reference to LTE technology and terminology, radio access nodes and mobility management nodes are considered to support relay nodes that are proxied through donor nodes. It may operate according to further mobile communication technology or wireless communication technology. The radio access node then operates the source and / or target cell for the handover procedure, and controls the inbound handover decision towards that cell, and the outbound access from that cell. It will mean the network node for the radio access network (RAN) infrastructure that controls handover decisions. For example, a source and / or target radio access node refers to an eNB for LTE, or a radio network controller (RNC) for Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). Alternatively, it may mean a Base Station Controller (BSC) for the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). Similarly, a mobility management node may mean an MME for LTE, or a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) for GSM or UMTS.

  It should be noted that the term “comprising”, which is also used in the claims, should not be construed as limited to only the means listed thereafter. Therefore, the scope of the expression “device comprising means A and B” should not be limited to devices consisting solely of components A and B. That means, for the present invention, the relevant components for the device are A and B.

  It should also be noted that the term “coupled” should not be construed as limited to direct connections only. Thus, the scope of the expression “device A coupled to device B” refers to a device or system in which the output of device A is connected directly to the input of device B and / or vice versa Should not be limited to only. That means that there is a path between the output of A and the input of B and / or vice versa, this path can be a path that includes other devices or means To do.

  The description and drawings merely illustrate the principles of the invention. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will devise various arrangements that implement the principles of the present invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof, although not explicitly described or shown herein. It will be understood that it will be possible to do. Moreover, all examples listed herein primarily assist the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor (s) to promote the art. It is expressly intended to be for educational purposes only and should not be construed as limited to such specifically listed examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.

  The functionality of the various elements shown in the drawings can be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in conjunction with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functionality can be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by multiple individual processors, some of which can be shared. is there. Further, the processor should not be construed to mean exclusively hardware capable of executing software, and implicitly, without limitation, a digital signal processor (digital signal processor). DSP hardware, network processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and the like. Other hardware such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), non-volatile storage, including traditional and / or custom Is possible.

Claims (6)

A method for transferring radio access network RAN configuration data between radio access nodes, comprising a mobility management node (MMEA),
A first RAN configuration transfer message (1) issued by a source radio access node (eNBA) operating the source cell (A), the target relay radio access operating the target cell (B) A target node identifier (RN-IDB) of a node (RNB) and a target tracking area identifier (TAIB) of the target cell, whereby the source radio access node Receiving a first RAN configuration transfer message (1) requesting RAN configuration data from a radio access node;
Decoding the target node identifier and the target tracking area identifier from the first RAN configuration transfer message;
If the target tracking area identifier is managed by the mobility management node and the target node identifier is not associated with any registered radio access node, the target tracking Broadcasting the first RAN configuration transfer message as a further first RAN configuration transfer message (1 ′) towards a plurality of registered radio access nodes (DeNBC, eNBD) associated with the area identifier; A method comprising: The target cell from the source cell by a donor radio access node (DeNBC) from among the plurality of registered radio access nodes and through which the operation of the target relay radio access node is proxied The donor node identifier (DeNB-IDC) of the donor radio access node used as the target node identifier of the handover message for handing over the user equipment UE (UEX) to the cell, the second And returning the second RAN configuration transfer message to the source radio access node by the mobility management node as a part of the second RAN configuration transfer message (2). Message (2 The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of forwarding as'). The source radio access node and the source radio access node (DENBC) from among the plurality of registered radio access nodes and through which the operation of the target relay radio access node is proxied Returning the donor radio access node network address (TNLC) being used for further connectivity with the donor radio access node as part of the second RAN configuration transfer message (2) And further comprising the step of transferring the second RAN configuration transfer message as a further second RAN configuration transfer message (2 ′) by the mobility management node toward the source radio access node. Claim 1 or 2 Law. A mobility management node (MMEA) configured to transfer radio access network RAN configuration data between radio access nodes;
A first RAN configuration transfer message (1) issued by a source radio access node (eNBA) operating the source cell (A), the target relay radio access operating the target cell (B) A target node identifier (RN-IDB) of a node (RNB) and a target tracking area identifier (TAIB) of the target cell, whereby the source radio access node Receiving logic for receiving a first RAN configuration transfer message (1) requesting RAN configuration data from a radio access node;
Decoding logic for decoding the target node identifier and the target tracking area identifier from the first RAN configuration transfer message;
If the target tracking area identifier is managed by the mobility management node and the target node identifier is not associated with any registered radio access node, the target tracking For broadcasting the first RAN configuration transfer message as a further first RAN configuration transfer message (1 ′) towards a plurality of registered radio access nodes (DeNBC, eNBD) associated with the area identifier Mobility management node (MMEA) with routing logic. The receiving logic further includes a donor radio access node (DeNBC) donor among the plurality of registered radio access nodes and through which the operation of the target relay radio access node is proxied. A donor identifier used as a target node identifier in a handover message for handing over a user equipment UE (UEX) from the source cell to the target cell, which is a node identifier (DeNB-IDC) For receiving a second RAN configuration transfer message (2) comprising a node identifier (DeNB-IDC);
The routing logic is further for forwarding the second RAN configuration transfer message as a further second RAN configuration transfer message (2 ') towards the source radio access node. 4. Mobility management node (MMEA) according to 4. The receiving logic further includes a network of donor radio access nodes (DeNBC) from among the plurality of registered radio access nodes and through which the operation of the target relay radio access node is proxied. A second RAN configuration transfer message comprising an address (TNLC), the network address (TNLC) being used for further connectivity between the source radio access node and the donor radio access node For receiving (2),
The routing logic is further for forwarding the second RAN configuration transfer message as a further second RAN configuration transfer message (2 ') towards the source radio access node. The mobility management node (MMEA) according to 4 or 5.

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